Bacon, Cheddar and Chive Scones

A rich and flaky scone filled to the brim with bacon, cheddar and chopped chives. A good dose of freshly ground pepper added to the batter really kicks these into high gear.

I have been meaning to make these for several days now and they were worth the wait. To be honest, I am more of a savory gal than sweet so these are utter perfection for me and my taste buds.

Another fantastic recipe from the Pastry Queen's Cookbook though I did alter the recipe somewhat. If you truly want the original then head out there and pick up the book.

Now let's get started !

But first: Here is my leftover dough after already making up a batch of 8. As you can see, this is a hefty recipe and I loved it for it ! You can never have too many scones. This leftover dough was patted out again and made into another batch of scones. Not a scrap leftover.

They rise up beautifully. I always put a small dent in the tops of my unbaked scones right before they go into the oven. This prevents them from toppling over during the rise process.

RECIPE:

WHAT YOU NEED

3 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup cold butter, grated with large side of food grater
1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
3 tablespoons snipped chives. I use my kitchen shears to cut these up into small pieces
10 slices of bacon, cooked to crisp and crumbled
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
1 large egg
2 tablespoons heavy cream (half and half works fine too)

MAKE IT

PREHEAT oven to 400F
LINE a cookie sheet with parchment paper
IN LARGE BOWL, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt
ADD butter and cut in more with a fork; dough should be crumbly with bits of butter peaking out everywhere
ADD cheddar, chives and bacon. Stir in with fork
ADD buttermilk. Stir again with fork until it starts to clump together in a shaggy dough
ON A FLOUR DUSTED WORK SURFACE, mound up the dough into a loose ball. Then gently pat down to 1/4 inch thick
FOLD the dough in 1/2 and gently pat down again to 1/4" thickness
FOLD the dough in 1/2 one more time and pat down to 1/2" thickness
WITH FLOURED BISCUIT CUTTER OR DRINKING GLASS, cut out scones
PLACE on cookie sheet
COMBINE egg and cream in a bowl whisking til combined
WITH PASTRY BRUSH, brush egg mixture onto tops of scones. If you like, feel free to sprinkle a bit of sea salt on the tops before baking
WITH BACK OF A TEASPOON, press a small indent into the center of each scone
BAKE for 18-20 minutes until golden brown
ALLOW to cool 5 minutes on a baking rack then indulge !

I find these always taste the best when warm. If they do cool down it is advisable to reheat in the oven at a low heat vs the microwave which tends to give you chewy biscuits vs the flaky kind.

ENJOY !






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